Marisela Cuellar-VanHouten, LMSW

Marisela Cuellar-VanHouten is a licensed clinical social worker (LMSW) in Michigan who helps people facing trauma, depression, bipolar disorder, chronic illness and caregiver burnout. She also supports people struggling with anxiety, low self-esteem, relationship and intimacy concerns, grief, sleep problems, and work stress. She presents as an LGBTQ+ ally and pays attention to cultural factors in care.

She uses a person-centered style that adapts to each individual's needs. Conversations are shaped around what matters most to the client, and plans are adjusted as progress is made. Marisela draws on practical tools from cognitive behavioral approaches to spot unhelpful thinking and build coping skills.

Mindfulness and acceptance-based ideas are also part of her approach. Those methods help people notice difficult thoughts and feelings without getting stuck in them. Dialectical behavior strategies are used when learning emotion regulation and distress-tolerance skills is a priority.

Her background includes a decade of focused individual therapy practice within a longer professional career. She has worked with people dealing with chronic pain, dementia-related caregiving stress, and motivation and confidence issues. That breadth of experience informs a steady, empathetic way of working.

Marisela emphasizes practical steps clients can use between sessions. She invites open dialogue about goals and tailors interventions to fit each person's life. The overall aim is to support safer choices, clearer priorities, and gradual change toward a more manageable life.

Therapeutic Approaches for Online Care

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) helps people clarify personal values and take small, committed steps toward them even when feelings are difficult. It’s often used for anxiety, depression, and adjusting to long-term health challenges. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) focuses on the links between thoughts, feelings and actions and teaches practical skills to shift unhelpful patterns and improve mood and sleep. Mindfulness therapy invites simple attention practices to reduce reactivity and support steady coping during pain or stress.

Finding the right approach is part of the process. The therapist will work together with each person to choose methods that match their goals, needs, and preferences. That conversation shapes what techniques are tried and how they are adapted over time.

This profile does not list specific online session formats, so please confirm current options before booking. In general, online work can make it easier to fit sessions into a busy life, reduce travel time, and allow check-ins from different locations. Some formats also let people choose shorter or audio-only check-ins when that better fits a day. Licensed professionals adapt tools like behavioral experiments, mindfulness practices, and skills coaching for remote sessions so work continues between meetings.